Louisiana Senate Passes Bill Allowing the word “Independent” to be Included in Political Party Name

Posted on by April 11, 2014
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On April 3, the Louisiana Senate and Governmental Affairs revived SB 60, a bill which had previously been rejected by that committee. The Committee passed the bill, and then on April 7, the Senate passed it. As amended, it removes the legal ban to a qualified party having the word “independent” in its name.

As previously noted, the House passed HB 193, a very similar bill, on April 8. Neither bill has been all the way through the legislature, and the wording of the two bills is not identical. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.

California Poll for Secretary of State Race Shows Green Party Candidate in Third Place

Posted on by April 11, 2014
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On April 10, the California Poll released a poll for the Secretary of State’s race. The poll was underway before State Senator Leland Yee, a Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, had been arrested. After the arrest, the poll stopped including Yee in the poll. The results without Yee are: Pete Peterson, Republican, 30%; Alex Padilla, Democrat, 17%; David Curtis, Green, 5%; Dan Schnur, independent, 4%; Derek Cressman, Democrat, 3%; Undecided, 41%.

When Yee is included, the results are: Peterson 27%, Padilla 10%, Yee 8%, Curtis 4%, Schnur 4%, Cressman 2%, other 1%, undecided 44%. Here is a link to the poll. Schnur, the independent candidate, is on the ballot as “no party preference” because California’s Proposition 14 and its implementing legislation eliminated the ability of independent candidates to have “independent” as a ballot label.

Curtis has campaigned as an opponent of the top-two system, whereas Schnur is a big supporter of the top-two system. Cressman is also an opponent of the top-two system, but he doesn’t campaign on that issue. The other candidates have not expressed an opinion about the top-two system.

Yee has withdrawn, but his name remains on the ballot, because California (unlike virtually all other states) does not permit candidates to withdraw from the ballot. Thanks to Michael for the link.

Vermont Senate Rejects House Amendments in Omnibus Election Law Bill

Posted on by April 10, 2014
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On April 10, the Vermont Senate rejected amendments made by the House to S.86, the omnibus election law bill. One of the differences between the Senate version and the House version is the petition deadline for independent candidates. The Senate version of the bill moved that deadline from June to August, a significant improvement. But the House refused that change.

Some Vermont legislators have admitted that when the House acted, it wasn’t thinking about the effect of a June petition deadline on presidential candidates. The Vermont independent petition for president is now the second earliest in the nation, and Vermont does not permit stand-ins on petitions. Many parties won’t have chosen their presidential candidate in time to comply with the June petition deadline.